Send in the clowns

Favre.

That single word, though often misspelled, elicits an instant reaction from any sports fan.  Be it a wry smile, chuckle, or grimace of disgust, hearing the man's name spoken out loud, particularly when NFL training camp is underway, is going to draw a response.  Given the events of today, that's only going to become more true in the coming weeks and months.

The old gunslinger is at it again, hitting the Internet so hard you would've thought it owed him money.  One simple 3-word text message, insinuating what exactly is unclear, has literally set the world atwitter with speculation that he will once again retire, and that this time that retirement will stick.  My initial reaction can be summed up quite simply here (don't worry, it's SFW): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8vINCq_IAI

For the longer version, we have to step back, take a deep breath, and have a good look at what we're dealing with here.

Heee-hah.

Ready to continue?  Good.

Shockwaves thundered across Vikings Nation today as Brett Favre announced he would not be coming back for a 20th NFL season...and then we just kind of went back to what we were doing.  I mean come on, it's almost a year to the day that he said he wouldn't be playing last season, and there are still weeks of camp, just how gullible are we expected to be here?  Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk nailed my feelings perfectly on the whole thing  http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/08/03/our-take-brett-favre-will-play/

Sure the guy is another year older, sure he was banged up at the end of last season, but after sitting around forlornly for three weeks last season until he miraculously appeared...I just can't get too worked up over this.  Maybe it's a money play, perhaps his ankle actually needs more rest, could be he's actually having some doubts.  But after watching three years of Favreapalooza, I'm actually starting to think this whole act is for nothing more than his own enjoyment.  It's like a hot chick who wants to be told she's pretty, you don't why why they ego boost is needed, but you're not getting anywhere without it.  The whole Brett dance kind of gives a new meaning to the term "offseason pickup", I feel like I should by him a drink.

So until we know otherwise, the correct internal response is no response at all, but externally we should be gnashing teeth and rending garments in hopes of impression upon our 2009 savior just how much we need him back.  And oh do we ever.  As much as you tried to block the T-Jack Era out of your memory forever, he's lurking in the shadows, just waiting to jump-pass a wobbler into the arms of a cutting linebacker he never saw.  I mean it's to the point we should just get him one of those Jedi training helmets from Star Wars and tell him to use The Force, because the only thing less trustworthy than a Brett Favre statement is a Tarvaris Jackson read.

And that's really the only thing that bothers me here, the lingering thought in the back of my head that this is EXACTLY how karma works when you're a Vikings fan.  We snag the iconic QB of our largest rival, laugh our asses off as he whips them twice and wins the division, spend a whole offseason smugly licking our chops for round two...and then the rug gets yanked out from under us.  Again, I don't think it WILL happen, but IF it happened, who better than Brett Favre to deliver the death blow?  Who better than the face of Packer lore, coming grimly to tear our hearts out one more time?  It wouldn't be just the loss of the coming season either.  It will be the fact that the team wasted another two years not trying to find a QB, while playing just well enough to get Brad Childress extended, but not winning it all. 

I'm honestly alright at the moment, but after a preseason game or two, it's pretty much a lock I wake up at least once, drenched in sweat and screaming, following a dream about T-Jack standing on a podium taking questions at the 2013 Vikings training camp.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The horror.

But hey, then I'll just remind myself not to worry, the hero on the white horse will be back soon, and hope will once again return to Loserville, at least for a little while.